As marijuana shops roll out, towns brace for customer ‘onslaught’

Eli Sherman Wicked Local @Eli_Sherman

Monday

Dec 3, 2018 at 7:21 AMDec 5, 2018 at 11:51 AM

Plan. Plan. Plan.

That’s the advice Leicester Police Chief James J. Hurley is giving fellow community leaders after a barrage of marijuana-seeking out-of-towners descended on his central Massachusetts town, knotting traffic and frustrating local residents.

“We always say, ‘Plan for the worst and hope for the best,’” Hurley said. “We got the worst.”

Legal sales of recreational marijuana started on Nov. 20, and Leicester, bordering Worcester to the west, was one of two towns where sales were allowed. The milestone in marijuana legalization attracted thousands and customers spent $2.2 million on marijuana products between two stores in the first five days, according to a report by the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission.

At times, the queue of cars waiting to get into the parking lot of the Leicester dispensary, Cultivate Holdings, stretched a half-mile long.

Within a week, the hoopla became too much for local residents, and the town of about 11,000 people was forced to call an emergency meeting to discuss and address unexpected challenges that stemmed from the influx of so many people.

Hurley says customers — some waiting six hours to be served — were patient and respectful, but there were reports of at least two people peeing in neighborhood bushes, and the unyielding traffic made it difficult for the post office to deliver mail and for local residents to get in and out of their homes.

“We have cars outside our house seven days a week, 12 hours a day. We have no life there anymore, it’s like living in a fishbowl,” said a visibly frustrated Leicester resident, Dawn Gauthier, during the emergency meeting.

The disruption was watched closely by other Massachusetts communities and businesses, especially in Easthampton, Salem and Wareham, where marijuana retailers have received final licenses from the state.

“A number of communities have reached out to us to discuss what went right and what we could do better,” Hurley said.

In Wareham, Pharmacannis Massachusetts Inc. plans to open mid-December and the Illinois-based company is working with town officials on logistics, according to Executive Director Shelley Stormo.

Acting Police Chief John Walcek called it “unchartered territory.”

“We’re trying to prepare for the onslaught, if you will,” he said.

The plan is still developing, Walcek added, but his biggest concern is to ensure emergency vehicles can travel to and from Tobey Hospital. Designated parking is scant, he added, meaning customers will have to park in specific lots elsewhere and get shuttled to the store.

The line into the retailer is expected to go through Besse Park.

“We’re working really closely with the Town of Wareham so that we have a smooth experience with our customers and retain as much normalcy in the town as possible,” Stormo said.

The store will be the first to open in southeastern Massachusetts, which will likely attract customers from Cape Cod, the South Coast, South Shore and Rhode Island.

Stormo said they are preparing to serve roughly 3,000 people per day, equaling what was seen at the Northampton and Leicester stores on Black Friday.

Business should boom until the state allows more retail shops to open, she added.

“Until more of these get open, we’re going to be really busy,” Stormo said. “Once the novelty wears off, we’ll become an errand.”

In Salem, where Alternative Therapies Group Inc. (ATG) has also received a final license, city officials met on Nov. 28 to start planning for a mid-December opening. The state has final say on when the stores will be allowed to open and as of Nov. 28 the date had not been finalized.

Salem has experience dealing with big crowds, especially around Halloween, as the historic North Shore city is home to the infamous Salem witch trials in the 17th century.

But Salem Police Capt. Conrad J. Prosniewski said this inflow of people will be different because ATG is located outside downtown, and the store estimates it could be serving as many as 200 people per hour.

The city also plans to use local parking lots and shuttles to manage traffic, and will need to ensure safety, especially during the three hours the store will be operating during the evening when it will be dark, Prosniewski added.

Salem and Wareham will continue to plan leading up to opening day, and they certainly will not be the last community to go through it. As of Nov. 26, the CCC had approved 76 more provisional licenses, including 25 more retailers.

At a certain point, there’s nothing left to do other than hope everything goes smoothly, Prosniewski added, echoing Hurley.

“We have to prepare for the worst and hope for the best,” Prosniewski said.

Eli Sherman is an investigative and in-depth reporter at Wicked Local and GateHouse Media. Email him at esherman@wickedlocal.com, or follow him on Twitter @Eli_Sherman.